Posted on 07/02/2009 9:45:13 PM PDT by Clintonfatigued
The chairman of the North Dakota Republican Party is vowing to let Gov. John Hoeven (R) know just how much his constituents want him in the Senate.
But although GOP chairman Gary Emineth will have an uphill climb to convince Hoeven, serving his third term, to take on Sen. Byron Dorgan (D), who will seek his fourth term next year, the governor has made comments lately indicating he has not completely slammed the door on challenging the Democrat.
Asked by The Associated Press whether he would enter the race, Hoeven said he concurred with Emineth's hope of recruiting candidates by September.
"I don't have any specific timeline, but that's probably a reasonable range," he said last week.
"Gov. Hoeven is seriously considering making a run for the U.S. Senate," Emineth told The Hill on Wednesday. "The governor has done an incredibly great job for North Dakota, and when you see the contrast of what's happening in North Dakota and what's happening in Washington, specifically our delegation in Washington, it's a huge contrast."
Both Hoeven and Dorgan are widely respected by their constituents. Hoeven won a third term with 74 percent of the vote in 2008, and Dorgan reached 68 percent in 2004.
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
Hoeven may really run. Perhaps Obama’s approval ratings are dropping faster in North Dakota than elsewhere.
The Dakotas should not have any Dems at the federal level. New England is able to shut out the GOP (for the moment). Yet in good political climates, we can’t shut out the Dems in conservative regions.
And who will run for Governor of North on the GOP side, if Hoeven does run for the ? Also, who will run for the U.S. House seat on the GOP side?
Something isn’t working right on my computer. The missing words on my post above are: “Dakota” and “U.S. Senate”. I hope this works.
Hoeven doesn’t have to give up the Governorship to run, he was just reelected last November. The GOP Lt Gov, Jack Dalrymple, would presumably seek a term in his own right (and is currently the most experienced Lt Gov in the nation). I don’t know who will run for the House, but I wish one of the other GOP statewide officeholders would give it a shot. Pomeroy is the weakest of the Dem federal officeholders.
North Dakota elects Governors during Presidential years. Also, Hoeven is term-limited. So it’s a win-win situation if he runs.
Amazingly, the Dems hold 5 of the 6 U.S. Senate seats in the Dakotas and Montana. These are very red states.
Can anyone explain?
Pork - and the ability of the incumbent to raise money.
The Dems in question get their campaign funds from huge national donors. Any Republican challenger has to raise his money in state from a small population.
If Hoeven has any smarts he is having a "show me the money" talk with the national party.
In Montana, one Democrat won on a recount against a Republican who had ethics problems.
In South Dakota, the Democrat Senator won a sympathy vote after suffering a stroke. Before that, he won only by narrow margins.
North Dakota is Republican, but not necessarily conservative.
If North Dakota is republican, why has that state only sent Democrats to the U.S. Senate and House since 1993?
Partly pork, partly because Democrats often better campaigners, and also because of periodic farm rebellions against the political establishment.
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